Many containers are provided with tamper-resistant devices to resist refilling of contents in the containers. For example, a container for carrying a liquid product can include a fitment that renders the container non-refillable, so as to impede efforts to refill the container with inferior products. U.S. Pat. No. 3,399,811 illustrates a container of this type.
A general object of the present disclosure, in accordance with one aspect of the disclosure, is to provide a product and/or package including a container and a use-evident indicator for indicating that the product and/or package has been used, for example, by opening of the package and/or by dispensing or other removal of original flowable product from the container.
The present disclosure embodies a number of aspects that can be implemented separately from or in combination with each other.
A product in accordance with one aspect of the disclosure includes a container, and a use indicator carried inside the container so that, upon removal of a closure from the container or upon removal of flowable product from within the container, a coloration of the product changes irreversibly to indicate to a user that the package has been used.
In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a method of producing a product that includes the steps of (a) positioning an indicator inside of a container, wherein the indicator has a coloration state changeable to another coloration state in response to use of the product, (b) flowing a flowable product into the container to at least partially cover the indicator, and (c) assembling a closure to the container.
In accordance with a further aspect of the disclosure, a product includes a container, and a use indicator carried by the container so that, upon removal of a closure from the container or upon removal of flowable product from within the container, a coloration of the product changes irreversibly to indicate to a user that the package has been used, wherein the container includes a wall recess and the use indicator is carried in the wall recess.
In accordance with an additional aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a method of discouraging reuse of a container after opening of the container, which includes the step of: applying a permanent discoloration to the container, which is observable by a potential user to indicate that the container has already been used.